


Handle With Care

by Moons_Secret_Stash



Series: Hold Your Heart [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Insecurity, Learning to trust, Not beta read we die like Fives, Nothing dirty here, Omega Echo, Pain, So much comfort, i blame discord
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27584927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moons_Secret_Stash/pseuds/Moons_Secret_Stash
Summary: "Already so much of his body had been changed and altered. Not even his mind worked quite the same anymore, so naturally he had assumed that he no longer had heats. He had been so wrong."Echo doesn't expect to ever go through a heat again. However when it hits whilst aboard the Havoc Marauder, he does the first thing he thinks of and hides. After all, he doesn't want to be a burden on his new squad, he doesn't want them to think any less of him.
Relationships: CT-21-0408 | Echo/CT-27-5555 | Fives (Past)
Series: Hold Your Heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2017046
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	Handle With Care

**Author's Note:**

> I entirely blame discord for this. It's 3:30 am.

Being with the Bad Batch had been a new experience, nothing like his time with Torrent or Domino. Whereas before he could always have relied on his brothers, with the batch he couldn't help but worry. He was an ARC trooper, a good one at that, but every mission he ran with the batch made him feel as if he was just holding them back, a nuisance. Often, he wondered whether he would have been better staying with Torrent, even if Fives and so many of the others weren’t there anymore.

  


But for the foreseeable future, he was a member of Clone Force 99. So he fought alongside them, planned out missions with them, and bandaged his own injuries when no one was looking. He couldn't be seen as weak, he was already a burden.

  


Already so much of his body had been changed and altered. Not even his mind worked quite the same anymore, and he knew for a fact that the bite Fives had once given him in the relative privacy of the showers so long ago was now gone. He was fully aware that his scent wasn't quite the same, far too muted and dulled. So naturally he had assumed that he no longer had heats. He had been so wrong.

  


And really, that's how he had ended up where he was now, cramped into the tiny cupboard where Tech usually kept some spare mechanical parts. But the Havoc Marauder was such a small ship, there wasn't anywhere he could really hide. Logically, it was a terrible plan. There was no way he would be able to hide himself away in the cupboard for the entirety of his heat. The others would look for him, or he would make too much noise, and there wasn't any food or water in the small space. But he just couldn't let the batch know he was an Omega, it would just edge them closer to sending him away, either back to torrent or back to kamino to be decommissioned.

  


Before the Citadel, he had spent his heats with Fives. Sure, occasionally one of their other brothers would visit from time to time, but usually it was just the two of them. It always had been since Rishi. And now, trapped on the Havoc Marauder in deep space, there was nothing Echo could wish for more than Fives. To feel his fingers across his skin, the soft kisses against his neck, the rich and beautifully unique scent that his Alpha had given off. But Fives was gone.

  


Echo bit back a whine and shuddered, pulling his legs closer to his chest. It was far too warm in the cupboard, and too cramped. His joints ached with being pulled into such a small space for so long. But more noticeably, his prosthetics Hurt.

  


Now that wasn't anything new. He had grown to live with the constant muted pain that came from his legs and arm, pins and needles running across where skin fused into metal. But this was something different. His limbs felt as if they were on fire, what usually resembled being lightly scratched was now an agonising burn. And all he could do was cover his mouth with his only remaining arm and try not to cry too loudly.

  


He wanted Fives. Or Rex. Or anyone he had known from Torrent. Just someone to hold him close, to soothe his pain and tell him that everything would be ok. 

  


Echo’s stomach cramped and he let out a sob, digging his fingers into the fabric of his blacks and the cold metal of his legs. Out of everything the Techno Union had left alone, it had to be this. And once he had let that noise escape, an audible declaration of hopelessness and pain, he didn’t stop.

  


Faintly, he was aware that the Batch were looking for him. Something about a plan they wanted him to look over. He knew he should leave, perhaps see if he could pass as alright, or lie and claim he must have caught a bug. But Tech wasn’t stupid, he would be able to see right through him, assuming Hunter didn’t smell him first. His usually quite passive scent was gone, replaced by the raging aroma of an Omega early in their heat.

  


They were calling his name now, or at least Wrecker was. He was never very quiet, perhaps his yelling could cover the sound of crying.

  


But out of nowhere, someone knocked on the door of the cupboard, and Echo knew he was done for. A hand tried to pull it open, but he managed to grab one of the thin slats in the metal and slam the door closed again, almost catching the fingers of whoever had found him. 

  


“Echo? Why are you in the cupboard?” Hunger growled, and Echo barely held back a whimper. Sure, Hunter was an Omega, just like him, but it did nothing to dilute his aggression. And Echo was already on edge.

  


“Come on, open this up.” Distantly, he could hear more footsteps approaching, see more shadows through the slats of the cupboard. Everyone was outside, waiting for him. There was no way he could leave now.

  


“I can’t.” He sobbed, clenching his teeth as the blistering sensation of heat ran up his legs. 

  


“Why not? What’s happening in there Echo?” Hunter asked, and Echo frowned. Surely he would be able to tell by the scent alone, Hunter was supposed to have a good sense of smell.

  


Can’t tell you.” He replied, pausing to frantically try and rub the tears from his eyes.

  


There was a pause, a quiet commotion between the batch. Whatever they were talking about, he couldn’t quite work out. Likely, they were discussing how to send him back, whether to return him to the 501st or just throw him on the next ship passing Kamino. 

  


Echo let out a whine, everything hurt so much he couldn’t help it. His body was on fire, and he just wanted Fives to be there. But the galaxy was cruel like that.

  


Another gentle knock at the door, Hunter seemed to move away and be replaced by someone else. But no doubt, everyone was still outside.

  


“Echo, can you describe your symptoms?” That was Tech, no doubt. It was obvious what was happening, but Tech had always been thorough in his work. 

  


He considered not answering for a moment. But Wrecker would easily be able to pry open the doors of the cupboard in less than a second. There really wasn’t any way to hide it.

  


“It’s too hot.” he mumbled, just loud enough to be heard thanks to the echo of the metal box he had shut himself into.

  


“You’re only going to get warmer in such an enclosed space, especially so close to the vents.” Tech reasoned. 

  


“No… my legs, my arm. They’re too hot, it hurts.” Echo sobbed, there wasn’t any reason to hide his crying anymore.

  


There was a pause, a quiet mumbling of conversation between the waiting clones. If he had tried, he probably would be able to overhear them. But everything ached and burned so badly, and for just a moment he didn’t want to have to worry about the consequences of his heat. He wanted to curl up on some bedding, surrounded by the familiar scents of his brothers, and with the big strong arms that could only belong to his beloved ARC trooper wrapped around his body with a promise to never let go. In hindsight, he’d never been able to keep that whispered promise.

  


“Echo, we know you’ve started your heat. Come on out, we can help you.” Tech said, his voice edging on the soothing tone most clones used to try and talk to younger civvies. It almost worked.

  


Echo shook his head firmly, even if they weren’t able to see that, and tightened his grip on his legs. His joints screamed at him, the pain edging towards the agony of the citadel explosion. But he couldn’t trust them. They weren’t Torrent, they weren’t the brothers he knew and trusted with his entire being. Even the thought of his distant brothers made him bite back a cry.

  


“Echo please!” Hunter begged, his voice edging on desperate.

  


“You’re safe here.” He sounded so earnest, so honest. But it couldn’t be true. He wasn’t safe with the batch. They didn’t like him. He was a burden. 

  


“I know we aren’t Torrent, and I know we haven’t been working together for long. But we’re worried, we want to look after you.”

  


The words took a little while to register and process in Echo’s head. Again, Hunter sounded like he was telling the truth. But it seemed too hard to believe. There was no way that the batch wanted to take care of him. He would only be holding them back. 

  


“I’m going to open the door, ok?” Hunter said, and Echo couldn’t bring himself to stop him. 

  


Light instantly flooded his eyes, overwhelming his senses. The voices were louder, all talking over each other at once and it was too much for him to deal with. His head hurt, almost as much as the rest of his body did, drowned in noise and bright lights. Echo closed his eyes, trembling as cooler air hit him.

  


And all at once arms gently pulled him from the cupboard and lifted him up. His shaking figure was held close to a large chest, one that could only belong to Wrecker. He was being surprisingly gentle, quite out of character for the large clone. Echo cried out as his legs stretched out a little, the burning rushing up over his aching joints. But then his head was being pressed against Wrecker’s shoulder, cradled ever so gently in his enormous arms. 

  


It wasn’t his first time having been lifted by Wrecker, many times during a heated escape he would find himself flung over his shoulder. But this felt different, and Echo wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Wrecker handle anything with as much care as he was doing at that moment. He was walking slowly, presumably towards the bunk area of the ship. And every time his body jolted and the whole world lit up in pain, a hand would run over his short hair to soothe him. Time didn’t quite feel right, he could have been lying against Wrecker’s chest for hours for all I knew. But the walking came to a stop, and despite his closed eyes, he could tell that they’d reached the bunk area.

  


He felt Wrecker adjust his grip, taking hold of Echo’s waist so as to avoid any painful spots, and gently lowering him down. Echo’s trembling figure came into contact with soft blankets, and he couldn’t stop himself from letting out a sob as he was set down onto a mattress. 

  


“You can open your eyes Echo.”

  


Following Crosshair’s advice, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was definitely on a mattress, but it had been placed on the floor and surrounded by the rest of the bedding aboard the Havoc Marauder. A sheet had been hurriedly strung beneath the lights in order to dim them, easing his nerves a little. 

  


Echo sniffed anxiously, getting a better sense of his surroundings. He couldn’t smell Crosshair or Tech, they must have masked their scent with patches recently. But the bedding smelled of them, the pillow beneath his head thick with the aroma of Hunter’s hair products. All of these smells he hadn’t realised were so familiar until now.

  


Hands touched his hips and he jerked in surprise, crying out at the movement not a second later. The hands stopped before resuming, carefully peeling the blacks from his upper body.

  


“Calm down. Udesii.” Crosshair mumbled quietly, and Echo did so, trying his best to relax. He hadn’t known the extent at which the batch spoke mando’a to each other. Torrent had learnt from Rex, so he hadn’t expected the familiar words of his brothers to meet him again.

  
  


The door opened again and two sets of footsteps approached. Echo looked up and was greeted by Tech’s face, without his usual goggles. Hunter was behind him, lurking beside the door.

  


“The heat’s warming your body, it’s causing the pain in your prosthetics. This should help.” He said quietly, not quite explaining what he was doing. But soon after, cold fabric was draped over the connections of his arm, and some of the pain floated away. Echo sighed in relief, closing his eyes as the same was done to his legs.

  


His mind, though a little scrambled by his heat, felt clearer without the agonising burning. It was nice to be able to think somewhat clearly after what had been countless hours in the cupboard. And perhaps the Bad Batch actually cared about him enough to look after him, even through something as disruptive to their missions as a heat. 

  


“Do you want to be left alone now?” Asked Tech, and Echo paused. 

  


He was increasingly aware of the ache deep inside his chest, an instinctual desire to be held and looked after. It clawed at him, the warm air against his bare skin sending shivers down his spine. He felt alarmingly lonely, an emotion not new to him following Skako Minor, but as devastating as it usually was. Echo wanted, he needed, someone to drape their arms over him and remind him that he wasn’t alone.

  


“Is there anything you want?” Hunter followed up with, no doubt thinking about whether he would need something to eat. 

  


Echo buried his face in the pillow and curled up, wincing at the movement. His answer could barely be heard.

  


“I want Fives.”

  


_ I don’t want to be alone. _

  


There wasn’t anything that could be said in response. But nothing needed to be said.

  


Hunter gently eased Echo into a sitting position before pushing him against Crosshair, who was sat with his back to the wall. He shivered involuntarily as he made contact with the sniper’s cool skin, before curling into him. Crosshair gently ran fingers through his hair, an unexpectedly soft expression on his face.

  


Faintly, Echo could hear movement as Tech was sent to find some supplies of some kind and Wrecker to find somewhere safe to land the ship. Hunter lowered himself down beside Crosshair and covered Echo with a thin blanket.

  


“You’re safe with us Eyayah.”

**Author's Note:**

> Udesii - calm down  
> Eyayah - echo


End file.
